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Administrative timetable

Request from BCC

27 November 2023: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from Belfast City Council (BCC) in relation to the proposed subsidy for the Mourne Mountain Gateway Project. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of the BCC assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the subsidy provided by BCC

Belfast City Council, as Accountable Body for the Belfast Region City Deal, is proposing to contribute public funding to the Mourne Mountain Gateway Project, a new visitor attraction that will consist of a gondola style cable car from Donard Park in Newcastle, Co. Down, to a proposed new visitor centre at Thomas Quarry. The beneficiary of the subsidy is Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC), which is the project sponsor.

The estimated total value of the project is 44 million, which comprises a subsidy of 30 million from BCC and a further 14 million from NMDDC. BCC will be receiving funding for this project from the Department for Economy under the agreed terms of the Belfast Region City Deal signed in December 2021.

The specific policy objective that this subsidy aims to address is to sustainably grow the tourism market in Northern Ireland (NI) by encouraging more visitors to NI, who stay longer and spend more across the region. Without providing a subsidy the market alone will not deliver visitor attractions of sufficient scale across the region to meet the policy objective.

The subsidy will be provided to NMDDC over the delivery period of the project (2024 to 2029) and will be conditional based on the terms and conditions of a Contract for Funding that will be signed between the Department for Economy and the Accountable Body and a Funding Agreement that will be signed between the Accountable Body and NMDDC.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAUs evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning BCCs proposed subsidy, please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Please send your submissions to us at: SAU-MourneGateway2023@cma.gov.uk copying the public authority: brcd@belfastcity.gov.uk

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

• the SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with BCC. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to BCC together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with BCC using the email address provided above

• the SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance

• for further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit

Contacts

• SAU project team: SAU-MourneGateway2023@cma.gov.uk
• CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk